CSL Plasma

Want a feel-good side gig that requires no work, no skill and no experience? Consider plasma donation through CSL Plasma. It’s a lot like giving blood, but you get paid — sometimes generously.

CSL says plasma donors can earn up to $100 per donation and as much as $750 per month. Notably, too, donating plasma is one of the few side gigs you can do while sitting in an armchair watching movies.

What is CSL Plasma?

CSL Plasma is the plasma collection arm of CSL Behring, a biotechnology company that develops therapies for hemophilia, immune deficiencies and other bleeding disorders.

How it works

The short version of how this works is that you find a local CSL collection center, go in, and pass a medical screening. (The medical screening looks at whether you meet age and health requirements to donate). Assuming you meet the requirements, you are asked to sit in a lounge chair, while they stick a needle in your arm and hook you up to an apheresis machine.

The apheresis machine separates the plasma from your blood and returns the blood cells to you.

A typical plasma donation can take from 45 minutes to 2 hours. At the end of this process, CSL will issue you a debit card, loaded with the money promised for the donation.

CSL Plasma Review

CSL is one of the largest international plasma collection companies, operating roughly 350 centers nationwide. Like other plasma collection companies, the site pays donors relatively generously for their time — and makes sure they are set up in a comfortable lounge chair, with fluids and free wi-fi.

For most people, plasma donations are relatively simple. They work much like giving blood. However, the tube in your arm is connected to an apheresis machine, which separates the blood cells from the plasma. The blood cells are returned to you. The plasma is all that’s taken.

Because plasma regenerates in your body relatively quickly, donors are allowed to give as frequently as twice per week. However, the Food and Drug Administration limits plasma donations to no more than 24 per year, or roughly two per month. (The more plasma donations you do, the greater the chance of side effects.)

Pay

How much you get paid for each donation varies by the location, whether you’re a new donor or a returning donor, as well as your weight. By and large, new donors are paid the most — often $100 per donation for the first 2 – 5 sessions.

After that, donors are typically paid based on their weight. The more you weigh, the more you earn. However, payments can vary by location too. Be sure to ask how much you’ll be paid and how long the donation might take.

Notably, some CSL donors complain they had to wait in a long line, vastly increasing the time required to donate. And making an appointment didn’t seem to matter. For those who care about how much they’re paid for their time, these delays can have a big impact.

Payments are made via debit card immediately following a donation. The debit card can be used for purchases or ATM withdrawals.

Requirements

While you don’t need experience or skills to donate plasma, there are several things you do need. You must:

• Be over 18
• Weigh more than 110 pounds
• Be in good health
• Pass a medical screening
• Have no new piercings or tattoos in the past 4 months
• Have a Social Security number and permanent address.

Notably, you’ll need an ID and a recent utility bill to verify your identity and your local address.

If you meet all of those requirements, you can find a CSL collection center near you by plugging your zip code in to their locator tool. 

Be aware, however, that if you’re not close to a donor center, you should ask the nearest center whether you’re within their “donor recruitment area.” If you fall outside of that geographic area, the site will not pay you for donations.

Positives

CSL Plasma has invested in state-of-the-art apheresis machines at many of its centers. These allow plasma donations, which normally require at least an hour, to be done in as little as 30 minutes.

Additionally, at CSL and most plasma donation centers, you are treated like a star when you donate. You’re led to a comfortable arm chair; offered drinks and snacks; and are either given movies to watch, or access to the site’s wi-fi so you can watch your own.

Cautions and caveats

Where the new apheresis machines abbreviate the time required to physically complete a donation, some donors say they were forced to wait in line for hours. So, the technology does little good if there’s not sufficient staff to handle demand.

Then, too, while appointments are not required, it’s extremely important to contact the center where you plan to donate. Centers that are not actively recruiting donors pay less — and if you’re not in their geographic recruiting area, they’ll pay nothing at all. By contacting the center, you can also schedule a donation during hours that are less likely to require. long wait.

Donors also are encouraged to download CSL Plasma’s smart-phone app to track their donations and payments. But the app is glitchy.

Finally, some donors say they were not given the amount of compensation they were promised. If you can get payment promises in writing, you can press for the correct compensation through a supervisor at CSL — or, if necessary, through the FTC, which enforces truth in advertising claims.

Recommendations

Plasma donations are a great side hustle. But we think other companies do a better job with it. CSL gets myriad complaints about under-staffed centers, app problems and long waits. We think you’d be better off donation with BioMat or Octapharma Plasma, if they’re in your geographic area. If you want to donate through CSL, you can sign up here.

What their users say (from Google Play)

Donating only takes a little over an hour from when you walk in. It depends how many people are in line. Overall, I always a good experience donating plasma. You’re helping others and make a little money. Win win.

I love the experience. made it fast easy and the phlebotomist were real respectful.

Problems with the app

I really can’t give the app a zero star bc there isn’t that option. I keep trying to use the app for bonus features. The app crashes when trying to use & don’t get access to bonuses that are emailed to me bc I did do my check in screening through the app. So riddle me this Batman. Why send me the bonus options but not allowing me to have access to the bonus

This app keeps messing up. Says I’m inactive and even -480 for inactivity. It says I’m unable to donate, I go to the plasma place, and they said it was the app and that I AM ABLE to donate. For my last two visits, it doesn’t show, and I didn’t receive my bonus points. Please fix the problem. I’ll change my 1 star rating after y’all do. Thank you.

Out of range

Took multiple busses for 3 hours too get there, and filled out paperwork watched video and waited about 35 mins for them to tell me I lived too far away, the cut off is 30 miles. I live about 35 miles away. The app should be checking that. So my whole day was waisted and the goal was not accomplished. Details and requirements are something I would cover if I made the app….

From the Apple App Store

This app is complete garbage. I can’t check my balance and the text method is a dead end also.

I can’t access the app anymore with my credentials. I’ve used it for no problem for months, and now all of a sudden I can’t get in.

Broken promises

I didn’t receive my referal bonus.

This place is a meat market. They did not give me the $400 for my first 4 visits that they promised. Then, after, they said $55 and I got shorted every time.

Unbelievable wait

A friend asked me to join him in donating and sent me a link. Download the app and set up profile. Even scheduled an appointment to donate. Get there 15 minutes before my apointment to find out that scheduling was a total waste of time. I had to redo everything and then still took 3.5 hours before I got into the screening process. I’m writing this 5.5 hours AFTER my appointment time. Don’t waste your time.